South Sudanese: Don't Let Your Country Reach The Rock Bottom!

By Luk Kuth Dak

I have always had a love for history and democracy, spending countless hours in the libraries delving through history books and biographies among other topics. Also, am fascinated by ' democracy' having lived in one of the world most oldest democracies, The United States of America.

That leads us to the question of what democracy means in the first place:

Firstly, " democracy is a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state through elected representatives.

Secondly, " a form of government in which people choose leaders by voting."

And thirdly, " an organization or a situation in which everyone is treated equally and has equal rights under the constitution."

The list goes on and on.

But, if you take a closer look at the above definitions, you will find out that they in contradiction with the system of government that exits in the Republic of South Sudan (RSS).

When Salva Kiir Mayardit became the first elected president of the RSS, He made a promise that he will establish a democratic system of government in the country. " I will be opened for disagreements, and I will respect the freedom of expression, he was quoted as saying."

He didn't keep that promise, did he?

Today, however, the RSS is anything but democratic, and more and more it seems as though the President is the country, and the country is the President.

That's why most- if not all- of his supporters ( This writer included) are alarmed and dismayed by what we see and observe in the media. It's self evident that President Kiir pretty much wants to barricade himself with those who cannot say ' no' for an answer. Those who dare otherwise, he shows them the ' door of no return.'

Talk about a ' one man' show.

More alarming, The President has severly wounded and compromised his country's relations with the West, especially the US and UK respectively. His first visit after he ousted the SPLM old guards was to Khartoum, where he received an unprecedented welcome by the ICC most wanted fugitive, Omer Hassan al Basher.

Sadly, these are difficult times for our country, and we should continue to advocate for changes everywhere.

The author is a former broadcasting journalist. He can be reach at: [email protected]

Arabic Forum